Seattle Set to Become More Hospitable as Kimpton Announces New Facility; Hedreen Hits Speedbump with Downtown Hotel Project

The Puget Sound area has been thriving in terms of new developments, due to massive increases in office space in the Denny Triangle where Amazon is driving growth, as well as the rise of South Lake Union as one of the hottest development spots in the entire Pacific Northwest. Now, with office projects taking off left and right, and the multifamily development pipeline ready to go until 2015 and beyond, it’s now another sector’s turn to take the spotlight. Two new hospitality projects were announced recently with an aging property in Belltown ready to be turned into a high-end property, while a brand new project will take shape in Seattle’s downtown area.

The Puget Sound area has been thriving in terms of new developments, due to massive increases in office space in the Denny Triangle, where Amazon is driving growth, as well as the rise of South Lake Union as one of the hottest development spots in the entire Pacific Northwest. Now, with office projects taking off left and right, and the multifamily development pipeline ready to go until 2015 and beyond, it’s now another sector’s turn to take the spotlight. Two new hospitality projects were announced recently, with an aging property in Belltown ready to be turned into a high-end property while a brand new project will take shape in Seattle’s downtown area.

The Puget Sound Business Journal recently wrote that operator Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants announced the opening of a new, four-star facility in Seattle’s Belltown. The location is the Palladian, a century-old building located at Second and Virginia that will be transformed by late 2014 into a high-end hospitality facility. The property will offer 97 rooms and 1,100 square feet of meeting and event space. San Francisco designer Nicole Hollis will be responsible for the design of the new building, while the conversion process is handled by Shemiran Trade.

The other hotel project in discussion recently is R.C. Hedreen Co.’s $450 million project at the core of Seattle. However, the company’s progress was recently hampered by local authorities. According to PSBJ, the developer will now have to review the project’s environmental impact in order to be able to continue its development process for Ninth & Stewart, as it was dubbed. The large project would feature a 41-story construction, offering 1,680 room and suites, as well as 160 units of affordable housing and 700 parking stalls.

One of the key points that made the city ask for more review is the impact that the new building would have on traffic. Also part of the controversy is a public alley, currently the home of a Greyhound bus terminal. That alley should be vacated and replaced by a new street that Hedreen offered to build through the site linking Eighth and Ninth avenues.